Get insights on handling employee burnout, adapting to change, and handling tough clients (with guest Diane Stadlen)—in the October 2024 episode of Agency Office Hours with Karl Sakas. To “jump” to a specific Q&A segment, click the timecode links below.
- Background: “From media to research to operations to president: what agency roles have you held?” [starting at 1:47]
- Agency Evolution: “What’s changed about the business today, versus 40 years ago?” [starting at 5:02]
- AI Influence: “How has generative AI changed the agency landscape?” [starting at 7:22]
- Client Facing: “Should clients get direct access to team members?” [starting at 12:31]
- Expectations Management: “What’s changed about client expectations?” [starting at 15:47]
- Marketing: “How do we decide where to target advertising?” [starting at 20:05]
- Risk Management: “What are the riskiest things agencies do?” [starting at 22:23]
- Hiring: “How should agencies think about hiring new staff members?” [starting at 26:01]
- Client Research: We’ve partnered with Databox on The State of Agency-Client Collaboration survey, where you can anonymously benchmark your results against other agencies. Take the 15-minute survey and get instant access to preliminary results.
Then, we discussed how to avoid (and manage) employee burnout, and how to handle difficult clients.
- Employee Burnout: “How can we prevent employee burnout?” [starting at 33:27]
- Team Communication: “How can I check in with my direct reports in an effective way?” [starting at 37:51]
- Time Off: “How should we support employees who need urgent PTO?” [starting at 43:42]
- Difficult Clients: “How can we navigate handling difficult clients?” [starting at 49:43]
- Client Relations: See Diane’s #1 tip for working with clients at your agency. [starting at 59:22]
Top resources from the live event:
- Agency pricing secret: Charge more via value-anchoring
- Agency positioning: Does your packaging reflect your true value?
- Sakas & Company and Databox’s State of Agency-Client Collaboration survey
- Doing better debriefs at your agency
- Ready to boost client retention? Make each client the Hero!
